The present invention relates to an obstacle avoidance system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an obstacle avoidance system, which may be incorporated into the flight control system of a rotary wing aircraft to minimize the likelihood that a portion of the aircraft will contact a detected obstacle.
Various systems have been developed to minimize the likelihood that a rotary wing aircraft will contact obstacles, such as telephone lines, etc., while flying at low levels. Current techniques include active electronic systems such as microwave and millimeter wave radar systems, passive systems which detect the magnetic flux from a live transmission line, and mechanical systems which cut the wires upon contact.
Other systems are designed to warn pilots of ground obstacles that may be located around the periphery of the rotary-wing aircraft during, for example, hover, landing, etc. For example, in one such system, a laser is directed in a circular pattern about the bottom of the aircraft's fuselage to detect obstacles and provide an audible and/or visible alert. Disadvantageously, these ground obstacles alert systems may be just one of many warning systems incorporated into the aircraft such that the pilot may miss the alert during high workload situations during which the pilot must scan multiple flight instruments while visually observing the outside environment or landing zone.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an obstacle cueing and avoidance system which provides a force feedback to minimize the likelihood of inadvertent contact with an obstacle.